


Suns, France, and Soulmates

by book_quote



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Jeremy Knox is a disaster bi oKAY, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, but that’s just a heads up, individual chapters will have their own tws, mentions of anxiety and panic attacks, mentions of trauma, soulmate fics make brain go brrrr, warnings for mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/book_quote/pseuds/book_quote
Summary: Jean Moreau knows who his soulmate is. Jeremy Knox doesn’t. Shenanigans and heartfelt conversations ensue.Or, a jerejean soulmate fic set in a world where everybody gets a mark based on a defining characteristic of their soulmate. These marks don’t match, so it’s sometimes hard to figure out.
Relationships: Alvarez/Laila Dermott, Jean Moreau & The Trojans, Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, so, uh, this is my first fanfic. Yay! Please be nice. This chapter is just a quick prolougue, and hopefully I’ll be able to update kinda regularly. I have no idea what I’m doing and have no beta reader, so. Thanks for reading!

Jean Moreau knows who his soulmate is.   
It may have taken him eighteen years and ten months of having a small, cartoonishly drawn sun on his left ankle to figure it out, but by the time he leaves the Nest-for good-he knows.   
It took him a while to realize, even after Jeremy had started playing for USC and making exy news. Jean was seventeen when Jeremy made his way onto the college exy scene, and Kevin became obsessed with the Trojans. That was why, a year later, a few days after their semifinals game with the Trojans (which the Ravens won, of course), the magazine was there, lying on Kevin’s bed. Jean had picked it up, and then flipped to a random page-and saw an interview with Jeremy. Apparently, the Trojan was one of the first sophomores to ever be given captaincy of a Class I exy team. But that wasn’t what did it. No, what made Jean realize was when the interviewer said, “Jeremy-you’ve often been compared to the sun. How do you think this has changed since the Trojan’s defeat a few days ago? Jeremy had gone on some long tirade about how he was still happy, etc etc. But Jean didn’t read it, because even though he and Jeremy had only really interacted once, everything suddenly fell into place. Jean came to a conclusion that day: the universe is well and truly out to get him.

* * *

Jeremy Knox has no idea who his soulmate is.   
It’s not for lack of trying-at ten, he got his first “French Basics” book. By thirteen, he was reading French chapter books, and when he entered high school, he enrolled in French-never mind the fact that it was recommended for only juniors and seniors. The fleur-de-lis on his right bicep along with his years of borderline obsessive French studying got him in just fine. And he had met people through total immersion in French-not his soulmate, but Marie, who owned the French bakery down the street, seemed to like him enough to give him a job. Who knows, maybe she had a secret grandson Jeremy’s age.   
By the time Jeremy was unpacking his things in his freshman year dorm room at USC, he’d declared his major-French, of course. While it was certainly a smaller workload then what he and all of his AP highschool courses pulled, it didn’t matter-Jeremy Knox was, according to both critics and coaches, one of the most promising players of that year, and probably for years to come. Still, Jeremy hadn’t found his soulmate. _Yet_.


	2. Welcome to California

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm writing fanfic is hard. Anyway I got a beta reader!!

One of Taylor Swift’s lyrical masterpieces,  _ Better Than Revenge,  _ blasts from the speakers of Jeremy’s old Jeep as he, Laila, and Alvarez speed down the highway towards LAX. Though Jeremy keeps his usual sunny disposition, he’s freaking out. He and his anxiety brain have memorized Jean’s entire schedule, down to the second Jean lands in California. First, Renee sees Jean off from the airport in Columbia. Then, he’d fly into Kansas City, where one of Dan Wild’s friends - “stage sister,” she’d said - would pick Jean up and stick with him for his forty-five minute layover, after which Jean would take his final flight to LAX. The girls were with Jeremy because, well, Kevin had said that Jean might ... not do well being alone with a male captain. Jeremy didn’t want to dwell on that.

Finally, he pulls into a parking space and powers off the Jeep, which gives an unhealthy shudder. Which, fair, it’s like 20 years old, but still.

“You’re off?” Alvarez asks from the backseat.

“Yes. And no making out in my Jeep.” Jeremy closes the door and half-jogs into the terminal, ignoring Laila and Alvarez’s laughter and scoffs. Though they’d only officially told the team that they were soulmates a few months ago, it had been obvious from the day Laila joined the team last year.

* * *

Jean grabbed his one piece of luggage and stood up, careful not to bump his head on the low airplane ceiling. He’s tall, okay? The line starts moving after a frankly idiotic amount of time, and before he knows it he’s being greeted by Jeremy Knox’s agressively smiling face. 

“Jean! Welcome to good ol’ Cal-e-fornia! How was your trip?” Jeremy almost moved to sling an arm around Jean’s shoulders, but remembered that Jean was … a severely broken person. He coughed and looked up and Jean. Right, his question.

“It was good, but I’m glad to be on solid ground again,” Jean muttered. Jeremy didn’t seem to mind, and started walking.

“Right, well, that’s all of your luggage, and Laila and Alvy-ah, that’s Sara Alvarez, are waiting in the car, so, let’s get going?” Jean didn’t respond, but followed, and that was apparently enough. Jeremy droned on about various aspects of Cali, but Jean didn’t pay attention. 

Finally, they made it to the doors, and Jean was almost blinded by the bright, hot sun. Jeremy gave him a crooked smile, and held out a hand across the parking lot. “To the car, my good sir?” He asked, to which Jean just glared. “Uh. Yeah, this way.” Jeremy took the lead again, and after a winding path through all of the cars, they arrived.

Jean honestly couldn’t believe that this car was still able to run, much less be deemed safe to drive. The bright yellow Jeep had rust on the outside, and the inside looked like a 60s hippie threw up. 

“Jean! Nice to formally meet you!” A girl with light brown skin and a high ponytail with sunglasses stuck on top of her head stuck out a hand. “I’m Laila Dermott, Trojan’s goalkeeper.”

“And my girlfriend,” added the tall girl next to her “Alvarez,” the girl said with a nod. Jean forced himself to shake Laila’s hand, but found it easier to return Alvarez’s cool nod. No contact greetings were, in fact, the best greetings, if there could be a good greeting.

“Jean, you’ve got front seat,” Jeremy said as he got behind the wheel. Jean cautiously sat next to the shorter boy, not totally sure that the car would survive the drive to USC. But, as they started off down the freeway, Jeremy, Laila, and Alvarez keeping up a running chatter, Jean realized: this is his life now. The Trojans. And his soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue is also hard, and it’s hard not to make this seem really stilted and weird,,,sorry bout that. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading <3


	3. Moving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry that it’s been a bit, this chapter is a bit longer so I hope that makes up for it.  
> also: this has over 100 hits?!? 100 people have seen this!! i’d just like to say thank you to everyone who’s left kudos/commented/read this, it means so much!!

“Uh, well, this is the dorm! It’s not much, but between my senior and captain privileges, we have an ensuite bathroom and room for a sofa.” Jeremy glanced around the dorm, feeling strangely weird about showing Jean where both of them would be living.

He’d done his best to tidy up before picking up his new roommate; papers were (mostly) tidy on his desk, next to his old computer and pencil holder. The area under his lofted bunk was almost free of random objects, and the pictures hung above his bed were straightened. Though Jeremy had only been in the dorm for a few weeks, he’d made it his home.

“Do you want me to stay while you unpack, or-“

“Could you go?” Jean answered, glancing around.

“Yeah, totally. I’ll run over to the pizza place - it’s this amazing restaurant off-campus, great place to get lunch - want anything?” Though Jean would probably say no, Jeremy had been raised to be polite and nothing, not even a kind of rude French boy, would stop him.

“Uh, I will have what you think looks good,” Jean responded. As if he’d never been asked if he also wanted something, Jeremy noticed.

“Right, well, I have my phone. Also, Laila and Alvarez are right down the hall, so, yeah. Bye, and good luck unpacking!” With that, Jeremy ducked out the door, leaving Jean to settle in.

* * *

Okay, Jean could do this. Just around forty-five minutes, alone. Yeah, totally. 

Jean forced those thoughts into the small, cobwebbed corner of his mind used for thoughts that took up too much space, and looked around his new room. Like Jeremy had said, it wasn’t much, but was better than a lot of dorms. Jean dropped his bag on his bed (which already had plain sheets on it. Jeremy must have known he didn’t have his own) and peeked into the bathroom, which contained a single sink and a shower. The sink - as with all of the room - looked as if it had been very messy, then hastily cleaned by the same person, who had no idea what neatness actually looked like. Jean had an idea who that person was.

As he walked back to grab his bag, a floorboard creaked under him. And yes, he was alone, completely alone because nobody fucking cared and-

A knock on the door came, suddenly. “Jean,” a semi-familiar voice called out. It took Jean a moment to place it, but that was Alvarez. Trying to keep his breathing calm, he opened the door. And came face-to-face with a girl wearing a lesbian pride flag tank top and holding a plate of sugar cookies. “Hey, teammate,” she said. “Jere said that you might have trouble adjusting, so, cookies! They’re Laila’s grandma’s recipe.” As she talked, she’d somehow slipped into the room and was placing the cookies on the table next to the window, which was in between the dorm’s two beds.

“Thank you?” Jean didn’t know how to respond to the girl sitting on the floor of his new dorm, eating sugar cookies made by her girlfriend’s grandma. Or had that just been the recipe?

“So, unpacking, huh. That’s all you have?” She nodded to the one duffel bag that Jean brought. At his nod, she smiled. “Well, soon Jeremy’s going to take you on a shopping trip. Be warned,” Alvarez said as she grabbed another cookie.

“Why are shopping trips bad?”

“Jeremy has a tendency to… overdo shopping. It’s nothing bad, just a lot,” Alvarez explained. Jean nodded again, then got to unpacking.

He didn’t have anything, really, so most of Jean’s time was spent neatly folding and arranging the three outfits he had. They were wildly warm for California, especially the summer, but being warm was better than, well. Showing his scars.

Jean had just put his first and last book on the small shelf next to his desk as the door flew open. Laila and Jeremy walked in, Jeremy carrying four pizza boxes and Laila with smoothies and two salads.

“Hey-o!” Jeremy put the pizza boxes on the floor and plopped down next to them. “Jean, I know that you like to eat healthy - ah, Kevin told me - so I got you pepperoni, a salad, and strawberry smoothie. Hope that’s okay?” All Jean could do was blankly nod at the rush of information. A second later, a box was pushed toward his place next to his bed (he must’ve sat on the floor while Jeremy was chattering about pizza, but had no memory of doing so), and on top of the box, which brightly stated that it was from HAYLOFT PIZZA, was a side salad and pink smoothie. The pizza and salad look okay, though one sip of the smoothie probably exceeds all of the sugar that Jean’s eaten, ever.

The others launched into excited conversation and changed topics so fast that even if Jean wanted to add on, he couldn’t get the words out before exy gear talk turned into surfing. This being said, it wasn’t one of the worst environments Jean had ever been in - actually, the background noise and surprisingly good pizza made Jean feel, well, not happiness, not yet, but a peace that he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

“So, Jean, after we clean up, do you want a tour of campus?” The direct question startled the person it was directed to, but Jeremy’s cheerful yet insistent gaze let Jean nod. “Great, just grab your trash and put it in the trash down the hall. Here, I’ll show you!” Jeremy grabbed his empty pizza box (which smelled faintly like pineapple, Jean noted), and smiled at Jean, who in turn grabbed his trash and followed Jeremy into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, jeremy knox eats pineapple on pizza and no i will not be taking criticism. 
> 
> as always, thanks for reading and my tumblr ask box is always open! (my url is @/some-meaningful-book-quote)

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry that was really quick, I’ll try to update soon. My tumblr is [here](https://some-meaningful-book-quote.tumblr.com/)  
> (Hope that link worked) ok thanks for reading, comments are always appreciated <3


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